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Yesterday, I wrote about my daughter Brenda — how she can’t wake up for school but pops out of bed at 6 AM on weekends. (If you missed it, go read it — it’s wild). https://www.chevymermelsteinsleepcoach.org/post/why-my-10-year-old-can-t-wake-up-for-school-but-pops-out-of-bed-at-6-am-on-weekends Today is the adult version of that story. Because if Brenda’s sleep is shaped by her thoughts, guess what?  So is mine.  So is yours. So is every adult who’s ever stared at the ceiling

If you’ve been following my work for a while, you already know that my sleep-coaching journey started because of one person: my daughter Brenda. Brenda is 10 years old — your typical, fiery, opinionated, doll-loving girl. She’s creative, emotional, funny, stubborn, and has more opinions than I have coffee mugs (which is saying a lot). And her sleep story is one that shaped not only how I parent… but how I coach. If you’ve never read her full journey, I wrote about it here: ..

Clients come to me struggling — sometimes with themselves, sometimes with their kids. I guide them, coach them, walk alongside them through sleepless nights, anxious mornings, and overwhelming days. I cheer them on through the small wins, help them navigate setbacks, and celebrate when the pieces finally click. And then… poof. They disappear. The other day, I got a message from someone I’d never spoken to before. She’s an avid reader of my daily blog, but this note stopped me

We throw around the phrase “rock bottom” like it’s a clear point on the map. A final stop. A moment so low, so dark, so painful… that the only direction left is up. But here’s what nobody tells you: Rock bottom isn’t actually the bottom. There’s always a trap door. For so many people struggling with sleep, anxiety, or burnout… that trap door is the real reason they can’t move forward — even when they desperately want to. Let me tell you about Chana (name changed), a mom of

Montreal has been ridiculously cold lately. Gray skies, snow falling every night — the kind of weather that makes you want to wrap yourself in a blanket and forget the outside world exists. Between frozen sidewalks and restless nights, it feels like many of us are struggling to sleep. Last week, I had a seemingly simple task: exchange a pair of gloves for my son. The first pair was too big, the second pair just slightly smaller. Easy, right? I handed over the first pair and w

Even after graduation and becoming a certified sleep coach, one of the things I love most about this field is that we never  stop learning. Every week, we hop on Zoom with our mentor, hear from guest speakers, and walk away with new tools and new perspectives. Sleep coaching isn’t a static profession—it’s alive, growing, and constantly evolving. Honestly? Some weeks it feels like we’re all still students… just students who drink more coffee and have far less patience for slee

We tend to want to stay under our covers, especially when the days are short, gray, and freezing. Here in Montreal, it’s been snowing for days, and I honestly haven’t seen the sun for a couple of weeks. Last night, I even asked Chat GPT when the sun last made an appearance! The thought of bundling up and heading outside? Sometimes it just feels impossible. If you’re finally warm and cozy at home, why bother? Groceries get delivered, Amazon knows my address in its dreams… But

I had the privilege of interviewing Dassa Friedlander, a mom from Lakewood, New Jersey, and a dedicated children’s sleep consultant. Honestly, it was such a breath of fresh air to speak with someone who truly gets it — the exhaustion, the second-guessing, the “why won’t this child sleep?” moments that every parent faces. Our conversation flowed with so much wisdom and heart. I asked her five key questions about children’s sleep, what parents are struggling with most, and how

If you missed Part 1 — my personal behind-the-scenes story of surviving my son’s wedding chaos — check it out here:   Read Part 1: How It Took Me Weeks to Recover from My Son’s Wedding You survived the chaos. You checked all the boxes. You made it through the whirlwind. But your brain? It’s still buzzing. Why? Because your nervous system hasn’t caught up yet. And here’s the part that surprises almost everyone: sleep disruption doesn’t always happen right away. Sometimes your

Ever wondered why your brain sometimes refuses to switch off after a huge life event? Tomorrow, I’m diving into the science of why it can take two weeks — or even longer — for your mind to truly process everything. But today, I’m taking you behind the scenes of my own story: the whirlwind chaos, the nonstop exhaustion, and exactly why my sleep went completely sideways. I mentioned in a previous blog that I married off my son at the beginning of November — in the States. And l

Ever lie down at night, completely wiped out, only to have your brain wake up like, “Oh good, finally she’s not busy — let’s go through every single thing she didn’t deal with today.” Before we go any further, a little teaser:  Tomorrow’s blog is a big one — “Can processing a huge event take two weeks?”  Spoiler: I lived through it, and my nervous system had a whole journey. Stay tuned. That, my friends, is what happens when we don’t process our day  — and it’s one of the big

Sleep Coaching Success Story: How One Client Overcame Travel Insomnia and Anxiety Last week, my phone rang — and when I saw the name on the screen, a slow, unwelcome feeling of dread crept into me. Every coach has that  client. The one who drains you.  The one who never seems to see any progress.  The one who brings the fear, the “what if this never changes,” and the constant self-doubt.  The client who leaves you wondering:  Am I failing her? Does she even trust me? What mor

So yesterday I had one of those glorious parenting moments where you think, Oh, this has to become a blog. Not because it was meaningful or sentimental or inspirational — no, no. Because it was so absurdly teenage that it deserves to be immortalized on the internet forever. Let me set the scene. My daughter Chana is one of those socially gifted teenagers — you know the type. The kind with a circle of friends who somehow manage to talk during school, after school, and then fiv

For a moment, I was in full panic mode… I couldn’t believe it — now my next son was having the same sleep struggles. What was wrong with me? Until I took a deep breath. Yesterday, I shared the story of my 13-year-old son — a deep, solid sleeper his entire life — suddenly telling me he couldn’t fall asleep and was wide awake at 1 AM.   Check out Part One here . Then came Part Two, where I stayed neutral and asked gentle, curious questions instead of panicking or jumping straig

Yesterday I shared the story of my 13-year-old son — a deep, solid sleeper his entire life — suddenly telling me he couldn’t fall asleep and was wide awake at 1 AM.   Check out Part One here This year, my son started a new school schedule, and it’s intense. He leaves the house at 6:30 AM and doesn’t return until 6 PM, only to go back out for learning until nearly 10 PM. It’s a huge shift for anyone — let alone a 13-year-old whose previous schedule was much lighter. I knew his

Every parent knows the feeling: that mix of pride, hope, and a tiny bit of terror when a child starts a new school year. New building, new boys, new schedule… and in this case, for my 13-year-old son, a schedule that would make a grown adult want a nap by 11 AM. This year he began a demanding new zman. He needs to be out of the house by 6:30 AM  and doesn’t walk back in until 6 PM . He gets one hour — one — to breathe, eat, reset, and pretend he has a normal life. Then he goe

Sleep is natural. Everyone is born knowing how to do it. And yet, so many of us struggle—night after night, year after year. One thing I see again and again is that adults with sleep anxiety often pass it, unintentionally, to their children. Parents tell me things like, “I’m afraid of not sleeping,” or “I can’t fall asleep without someone in the room.” Almost always, their children struggle too—sometimes needing someone nearby, sometimes resisting bedtime altogether. Kids are

Marrying off a child is a milestone full of joy, tears, and—let’s be honest— sleep deprivation . Between planning, traveling, family logistics, and the emotional rollercoaster of a wedding, it’s easy to forget the basics: eating, resting, and yes— hydrating . As someone who has helped countless clients regain control over their sleep, I can tell you that big life events like weddings, moving, or stressful work projects can completely derail your routines. And I realized first

Shannon swears she needs nine hours of sleep to function. Not eight and a half. Not seven. Nine. Like Goldilocks but with a clipboard, a color-coded calendar, and a hint of panic. The only problem? She hasn’t actually slept nine hours since she was sixteen. We’ve met seven times — in person, right here in my Montreal office. In-house sessions are always more intimate than Zoom. You see the tension in someone’s shoulders, the little habits that betray anxious inner monologues

If you struggle with insomnia, there’s a good chance you’re doing this one thing without even realizing it — and it’s making everything worse. You’re spending too much time in bed. Sounds strange, right? You’d think that the less you sleep, the more  time you should spend in bed. But that’s actually one of the biggest traps keeping insomnia alive and well. Sleep expert Sasha Stephens, author of The Effortless Sleep Method , says that “90 percent of sleep issues would be cured